Introduction

Ease of Use

From the outside, the most noticeable thing about the Panasonic Lumix DMC-XS1 is its thinness. It's only 17.6mm deep which is very thin for the 5x optical zoom lens to fit into. This is down to some innovative Panasonic technology that has made the lens thinner. This and changing the memory card type to MicroSD has enabled the designers to squash the internal components into the World's thinnest camera.

Panasonic have tried to make the XS1 look as futuristic as possible by using clean lines and shiny buttons. The front of the camera has the main colour over the majority of the area with a black line across the top where the flash is situated, to create a two-tone effect. The lens sits in a large bezel which is largely unused and arguably just for effect. On the top, there are two buttons that operate the power and shutter release. They're simple, circular buttons that add to the futuristic dynamic that Panasonic are trying to convey with the XS1.

However, the back of the Panasonic Lumix DMC-XS1 hasn't been tampered with and has the same outlay as any other digital compact camera in this price range. Of course, they have to stop somewhere in order to save money and we understand that.

Front	Rear

Towards the top of the camera is the zoom rocker switch with the Mode button and direct video record button sat below. The Mode button opens up a small sub-menu which allows you to choose how the camera takes pictures. The options available are Intelligent Auto, Auto, Creative control, Panoramic and Scenes. The Intelligent Auto mode is a feature that was pioneered by Panasonic and is now used on nearly every camera available under different names. It works by analysing the image in the screen and working out whether it's a landscape, portrait or macro (for example. There are usually a lot more available).  Then it changes the camera into the appropriate scene mode.

The biggest feature of the Panasonic Lumix DMC-XS1, aside from the size of the body is that the Panoramic mode can have the digital effects placed over the image either while you're shooting or as an after edit in playback. To do it when shooting, after choosing the Panoramic mode in the Mode menu, choose the direction you'd like to shoot in then decide whether you want to use a filter or not.

The zoom is relatively moderate on the XS1, so to aid in the prevention of camera shake, it has Mega OIS (Optical Image Stabiliser) fitted. Panasonic have two OIS systems; Mega and Power. The latter being more powerful than the former. Before you think that means it has a second rate image stabiliser, that's not the case at all. The Power OIS is more powerful and is used on high zoom cameras for that reason. A 5x optical zoom camera doesn't need the performance of the Power OIS when the Mega OIS can cope. It's also a less expensive system to manufacture which keeps the cost of the camera down. Fitting Power OIS to the XS1 would be overkill.

Front	Top

We touched on the Mode menu before and it's one of only two menus on the Panasonic Lumix DMC-XS1. Now this may appear perfectly normal, but Panasonic seem to omit the handy Q.Menu from their lower class cameras and it's a real shame. After all, it gives fast access to the important features of the camera, such as ISO, white-balance and resolution. To change these things on the XS1, you have to go into the Main menu which is found by pressing the centre button the navigation pad on the back of the camera. Pressing it opens up three options. Here you can choose to access the main shooting menu, video menu or set-up menu. As we mentioned previously, those features normally found in the Q.Menu are located in the shooting menu. You can also change other features, such as the focus modes, red-eye removal system, colour mode or image stabiliser settings if you wish.

The video only has two options in it for the record quality (classed as HD, but not FullHD) and AF options. The set-up menu is much more extensive with four pages of options. You can change modes such as the sound, date & time, video output, languages and more.

There are three continuous shooting modes on the Panasonic Lumix DMC-XS1. The top mode is a continuous drive mode and takes roughly one image every second at full size resolution. Because it constantly writes the information to the card, it's ready to shoot again three seconds later. The high speed burst mode takes a rapid 10 frames per second (fps) although it does it at a lower resolution. It can take two sets of those in a 10 second time frame.

Playback of the pictures you've already taken can't be accessed when the camera is switched off. If the camera is powered down, you need to switch it on first, which is unusual for a digital compact camera these days. The lens will be out, but will retract after around 30 seconds.

Memory Card Slot	Battery Compartment

You can flick through the pictures you've taken by using the left or right of the pad on the back. Pressing up will enable the Auto/Creative retouch. Auto retouch will adjust the exposure, contrast and saturation of the picture for you. The camera allows you to preview it first.  Creative retouch lets you place a digital filter over the image which it then saves as a separate file.

In the Playback menu, you can retouch the pictures here as well. You can also resize them, protect, copy or favourite them.

In the box, you get a CD with the full operating instructions, PHOTOfunSTUDIO ver 9 and a trial version of LoiLoScope, which is a video editing suite. In paper form, you get a Basic Operating manual. It'll give instructions on how to attach the wrist strap and insert the battery – both of which are included – and the memory card (not included). There's also a charging unit for the lithium ion battery.

Image Quality

Noise

It's easy when you get a budget camera such as the Panasonic Lumix DMC-XS1 to expect nothing in terms of image quality. If that's the case, then the low ISO pictures will be surprising. The pictures we got at ISO 100 are smooth, sharp, well exposed and with excellent colour rendition.  Don't be mistaken, we can see that noise reduction is at work, but it's working very well and not upsetting the balance of colour in the image.

Viewing the ISO 200 picture at full size, it's obvious noise is coming through as the darker areas are starting to get that muddy painted look as noise reduction blends the image to cover up noisy pixels.

Again, viewing at full magnification, noise starts to appear at ISO 400 in the mid-tones. By ISO 800, the noise reduction system has started to mute the colours on the sensor to try and suppress noise. ISO 1600 sees the noise reduction system start to overwhelm the noise reduction system.

ISO 100 (100% Crop)	ISO 200 (100% Crop)
ISO 400 (100% Crop)	ISO 800 (100% Crop)
ISO 1600 (100% Crop)

Focal Range

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-XS1 has a 5x optical zoom which starts at 24mm and zooms out to 120mm by 35mm terms. At wide-angle, the picture degrades substantially to the edges of the frame.

24mm	120mm

Sharpening

For a sub £100 camera, the Panasonic Lumix DMC-XS1's pictures are sharp enough without any additional sharpening in an editing suite. If you do decide to add sharpening, you need to make sure there's no noise in the picture first or it will get worse.

Original (100% Crop)	Sharpened (100% Crop)

Chromatic Aberrations

We struggled to find chromatic aberrations present on the pictures we took, although we were having a spell of bad weather during the test and didn't have the high contrast from bright light that is usually necessary. However, we did manage to locate some and it's only found at the far extremes of the frame.

Chromatic Aberrations 1 (100% Crop)	Chromatic Aberrations 2 (100% Crop)
Chromatic Aberrations 3 (100% Crop)	Chromatic Aberrations 4 (100% Crop)

Macro

At wide-angle, the Panasonic Lumix DMC-XS1 can focus as close as 5cm. At this setting, you need to put the subject in the exact centre of the frame, because the image quality dissipates considerably as you move away to the edges.

Macro	Macro (100% Crop)

Flash

Vignetting is noticeable at wide-angle whether the flash is fired or not. Using the flash simply removes any dappled light from the centre of the frame and stabilises it. At full zoom, there's a slight amount of vignette with no flash. This disappears with the flash firing.

Flash Off - Wide Angle (20mm)	Flash On - Wide Angle (20mm)
Flash Off - Telephoto (1200mm)	Flash On - Telephoto (1200mm)

And here are a couple of portrait shots.

Forced On	Forced On (100% Crop)
Auto/Red-eye Reduction	Auto/Red-eye Reduction (100% Crop)

Night

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-XS1 has a night scene mode for taking long exposures which will allow more light onto the sensor to expose the darker scene. The Night scene mode uses a low ISO to reduce the chances of noise. The long exposure creates its own noise though. It also used a 5 second exposure in our test. The Auto mode used a one second exposure, which is the longest it can use. Both cameras had the same settings on all other aspects. Noise performance is actually better on the Night scene picture although they both show it.

Night Scene	Night Scene (100% Crop)
Night Auto	Night Auto (100% Crop)

Sample Images

This is a selection of sample images from the Panasonic Lumix DMC-XS1 camera, which were all taken using the 16 megapixel Fine JPEG setting. The thumbnails below link to the full-sized versions, which have not been altered in any way.

Sample Movie & Video

As of February 2025, we are no longer providing full size sample images or videos for download.

Please contact us if you have any feedback on our new policy.

Product Images

Front of the Panasonic Lumix DMC-XS1

Front of the Panasonic Lumix DMC-XS1

Side of the Panasonic Lumix DMC-XS1

Side of the Panasonic Lumix DMC-XS1

Rear of the Panasonic Lumix DMC-XS1

Rear of the Panasonic Lumix DMC-XS1 / Image Displayed

Rear of the Panasonic Lumix DMC-XS1 / Main Menu

Rear of the Panasonic Lumix DMC-XS1 / Record Mode Menu

Rear of the Panasonic Lumix DMC-XS1 / Scene Mode Menu

Rear of the Panasonic Lumix DMC-XS1 / Record Menu

Rear of the Panasonic Lumix DMC-XS1 / Motion Picture Menu

Rear of the Panasonic Lumix DMC-XS1 / Playback Menu

Rear of the Panasonic Lumix DMC-XS1 / Setup Menu

Rear of the Panasonic Lumix DMC-XS1 / Creative Retouch Menu

Rear of the Panasonic Lumix DMC-XS1 / Creative Control Menu

Top of the Panasonic Lumix DMC-XS1

Bottom of the Panasonic Lumix DMC-XS1

Side of the Panasonic Lumix DMC-XS1

Side of the Panasonic Lumix DMC-XS1

Front of the Panasonic Lumix DMC-XS1

Memory Card Slot

Battery Compartment

Conclusion

If you're a happy snapper type of photographer, then the Panasonic Lumix DMC-XS1 is going to suit you down to the ground. It has an extremely simple operation to it and an easy to use UI. It nails the “point and shoot” term perfectly.

There are, obviously, issues with some of the performance areas. While we're happy with the focusing, speed of operation and overall metering, the dynamic range is extremely limited. We got burn out on some pictures we shouldn't have got it on. Noise is bound to be a problem with a camera at this price point and while it certainly is (showing through at ISO 200), we felt that the noise reduction system did a good enough job for viewing at normal distances and Panasonic took the right decision to cap it at ISO 1600.

For a camera under £100, the Panasonic Lumix DMC-XS1's build quality is suitable for the type of person looking to a buy a camera like this. The lens has problems with chroma, but no more so than cameras that are more expensive.

Indeed, for the price, the XS1 isn't a bad little camera. It's certainly not perfect, but then what camera is? It's so easy to forget that it doesn't just cost less than £100, it costs less than £90 / $100. That's great value for a digital camera that has a known brand name, a high resolution and plenty of fun things to do. Let's not forget that the digital filters on the panoramic mode is a new feature which isn't normally seen on lower end cameras.

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-XS1 is an ideal camera for taking away on holiday and whipping out on nights out. It looks attractive, is very thin and small, making it easier to store, and at £89, it won't be too much of an issue if the kids get hold of it and drop it. It could also make an ideal first digital camera for a younger person. If you fit into this demographic, then take a look at this camera.

Ratings (out of 5)
Design	4
Features	3.5
Ease-of-use	4.5
Image quality	3.5
Value for money	4

Main Rivals

Listed below are some of the rivals of the Panasonic Lumix DMC-XS1.

Review Roundup

Reviews of the Panasonic Lumix DMC-XS1 from around the web.

Specifications

Your Comments